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Information About

Diane Sawyer




  Birthname Lila Diane Sawyer
  Birth Place Glasgow , Kentucky , US
  Occupation Television Personality
  Gender Female
  Status Married
  Spouse Mike Nichols


Lila Diane Sawyer is a Television Journalist for the U.S. network ABC News and co-anchor of ABC's '' Good Morning America ,'' along with Robin Roberts . In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by '' Ladies Home Journal ''.


BACKGROUND

Diane Sawyer was born Lila Diana Sawyer on December 22 , 1945 in Glasgow, Kentucky . Soon after her birth, her family moved to Louisville , where her father, Erbon Powers "Tom" Sawyer, rose to local prominence as a politician and community leader. E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park , located in the Frey's Hill area of Louisville, is named in his honor. In 1963, she won the " America's Junior Miss " scholarship pageant as a representative from the State of Kentucky. In 1967 she received her English degree at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

After finishing her education, Sawyer served as a local TV news reporter for WLKY-TV in Louisville, Kentucky until 1970, when she was hired by White House press secretary Ron Ziegler to serve in the administration of President Richard Nixon , staying on through his resignation in 1974, and working on the transition team between Nixon and Gerald Ford in 1975, and assisting Nixon with his memoirs. Years later, Sawyer would be suspected as the source of leaks of classified information to Bob Woodward (nicknamed " Deep Throat " by Woodward) during the Watergate Scandal . However, she was one of six people to request and receive a public denial from Bob Woodward {Link without Title} .

In 1978, Sawyer became a political correspondent for CBS , becoming a co-anchor with Bill Kurtis of the '' CBS Morning News '' in 1981. In 1984, she became a correspondent for '' 60 Minutes '', where she stayed for five years. In 1989, she moved to ABC to co-anchor '' Primetime Live '' with Sam Donaldson . In 1999, Sawyer returned to morning news under a lucrative contract to become the co-anchor of '' Good Morning America ,'' along with Charles Gibson . The assignment was putatively temporary, but her success in the position, measured by a close in the gap with front-runner Today Show , has resulted in her staying in the position longer than anticipated.

Sawyer has had ambitions of becoming an evening news anchor, which were laid to rest as she was passed over by ABC News and CBS News in their anchor selections. Most recently, Charles Gibson was quoted as saying "Diane is burned out hosting in the morning."

In October 2006, Sawyer visited North Korea to learn about North Korean life and their nuclear weapons program. {Link without Title}


AWARDS, MEMBERSHIPS

  • Sawyer and segment producer Robbie Gordon received the 2004 George Polk Award for Television Reporting, given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting, {Link without Title} for “Fighting for Care,” an exposé on the disgraceful conditions, inadequate care and gross mismanagement that have persisted for years in Veterans Administration hospitals around the country. The report prompted hospital inspections as well as new supervision and training efforts.



  • Sawyer serves on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation , a charitable organization which attempts to allieviate problems caused by poverty in New York City, New York.



PERSONAL LIFE

Sawyer has been married to film director Mike Nichols since April 29 , 1988 .
Sawyer has a daughter.


CULTURAL REFERENCES

  • In the showcase comedy'' Trailer Park Boys '', Rob Well 's character "Ricky" kidnaps Alex Lifeson of Rush and tells him to play "Diane Sawyer" confusing it for Rush's hit song "Tom Sawyer".

  • In the courtroom drama '' Boston Legal '', James Spader 's character Alan Shore exclaims to his client, who was charged with Cannibalism "Primetime wants you on! During sweeps. They want you to eat Diane Sawyer."

  • In the Comic Strip '' Bloom County '', a central character, Opus The Penguin , had a long-time crush on Diane Sawyer.

  • In the movie '' Drop Dead Gorgeous '', Kirsten Dunst 's character repeatedly says that she aspires to win a beauty pageant and become a news anchor, "just like Diane Sawyer."

  • In the movie '' Something's Gotta Give '', Jack Nicholson 's character was at one time in his past engaged to Diane Sawyer.

  • In the movie '' Little Black Book '', Brittany Murphy 's character has the career goal of working for Diane Sawyer, and ended up achieving the goal at the end of the movie.

  • Diane was often mentioned as a rival of fictional news-magazine anchor Murphy Brown on the popular sitcom of the same name.

  • MADtv had a skit where Diane Sawyer (played by Mo Collins ) interviewed Whitney Houston , (played by Debra Wilson ). Sawyer did conduct a well publicized interview with Houston in 2002.

  • Saturday Night Live had a skit where Sam Donaldson calls Diane Sawyer a bitch on Primetime Live to prove that the show was live.

  • In '' America (The Book) '', it is said that "There is no valid reason to appear with Diane Sawyer."

  • During the Animaniacs cartoon "Broadcast Nuisance", a caricature of Diane named DuAnne Sewer makes a brief appearance as co-anchor of NewsTime Live with the cartoon's central (non-Warner) character, Dan Anchorman (a caricature of Sam Donaldson).

  • In Scream 2 Cotton Weary attempts to entice Sidney Prescott into a TV interview, claiming 'I know you don't do the press, but it's Diane Sawyer.'



FAMOUS INTERVIEWS



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